


12 Across

by tatooedlaura



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27497278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatooedlaura/pseuds/tatooedlaura
Summary: pencil ... always do the crossword puzzle in pencil ...
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	12 Across

Scully had certain things in her bathroom. She had soap, shampoo, razors, washcloths, cotton balls, cotton swabs, cotton bras (okay, just that one time she forget to pull them from the shower rod before he came over but that is a total other story for a total other time) and peeking out from under a folded towel sitting quietly on the hamper, a crossword puzzle book.

Scully did crossword puzzles in the bathroom.

Armed with this information, he opened to a random page, wondering fleetingly how come a pencil didn’t fall out.

He found a sea of blue and black pen.

That woman out there in the living room, the one leaned over casefiles on the coffee table eating messy Cashew Chicken from Senor Soy, did her crossword puzzles in pen, which meant no mistakes, no hesitation … just pure, unadulterated, obnoxious-level, lovable genius.

Which came down a notch because she did them while sitting on the toilet.

Holy … Shit … on a fucking stick …

Dana Katherine Scully was human.

He filed that knowledge as he slid the book back under the towel. She didn’t need to know he knew this about her. It would probably embarrass her to no end and he wasn’t about to be that cruel when he embarrassed her enough on accident. Doing it on purpose would just get those hell fires nipping at his heels even quicker.

No need to bring the wrath of the devil to his happy place and from his happy person.

Finishing up and washing hands, he headed back to the living room, settling next to her, stealing a stray cashew from the towel spread across her lap, “so, find anything interesting?”

Two hours later, they finished their arguing debate as to where they should head next and while cleaning up the strewn cartons and abandoned chopsticks, Scully nudged his foot while they were beside the trashcan, “you want to stay for awhile? I’ve got cookie dough in the freezer and an oven that heats up fairly quickly. We could have hot chocolate chip cookies in 25 minutes.”

“Like I’d ever turn down a cookie? Do you even know me?”

Grinning, she opened the freezer, setting about her baking while Mulder felt the slightest gurgle of angry second-round Szechuan Pork deep in his intestines. Excusing himself for another trip to the bathroom, it didn’t take long to realize he’d be there a little while and against any and all better judgement, he couldn’t keep his hands off the puzzle book.

Routing around in the drawers, he couldn’t find the pen she used but, fates smiling, presented him with a makeup pencil. Close, fucking, enough.

20 minutes later, intestines quiet, puzzle half done, he rearranged the book, the pencil, the towel, realizing hiding his tracks would be useless given the tell of scumbly eyeliner filled-in clues. Then again, if she hadn’t wanted him to do the puzzles, she shouldn’t have left the damn things in the bathroom.

There.

That made it all justifiably better.

With a grin, he returned to the kitchen, “sorry. Szechuan punishment.”

And for the briefest of moment, a finite drop of time, he saw panic in her baby blues and he held her stare until finite turned to what felt like infinite, “do you need anything?”

“Yeah. An 8-letter word for dreadnaught.”

Face suddenly a brilliant shade of red, “left that in there, didn’t I?”

“How the hell do you do those in pen? I barely got by with the eyeliner.”

Red faded back to normal, “you used my eyeliner? Really?”

“You should just leave a pencil and eraser in there. Make things a whole lot easier for visiting guests.”

Handing him a cookie, “will you just go get the book and we’ll finish the puzzle out here? And the answer is ‘overcoat’.”

He took his cookie but didn’t move, “it smells down there, Scully. I don’t want to go back in.”

Turning him bodily, hands on arms and back, “hold your breath. I’ll meet you on the couch.”

“Bring all the cookies.”

“I will bring all the cookies.”

She did indeed bring all the cookies.

And helped him finished that puzzle and two more after.

In pen.


End file.
